Total noobie

[LadyAyla]

I am readying for my first experience in a classroom setting geared towards teaching one to dive and snorkel. :daydreaming:

I know very little about either, but seek proficiency in both. I have compiled a list of gear I *think* I should have at first for casual diving, for now the list looks like the following:

Mask: have to take my time and pick a good fit
Fins: ?
Gloves: something black
Snorkel: the kind I can fold up and put into BC pocket
BC: (I am looking towards the SeaQuest Pearl i3 BCD currently- I tried it on and I liked the fit)
Regulator: (I know so little about these I do not know what to look for)
Octopus: (do not know what it is yet)
Depth gauge:
Tank pressure gauge:
Boots: (I am wondering if it is okay to have water shoes instead of boots?)
Underwater timer:
Compass:
3mm wetsuit: (I hear they have a hybrid with a torso area in 3mm and the rest of the full suit in 2mm, which I think sounds ideal for little me because I get cold easily)
Underwater light:
Back up underwater light: (I understand this is recommended for diving trips)
Regulator bag
Underwater diving knife: one blunt edge and one sharp
Dive logbook:
Dive computer:
Dive flag(s)

Let me know if you have any recommendations. I have a decent budget of about $2k-$2.5k. I have recently visited three local dive shops, and made comparisons on gear and prices, but recently read a couple articles here that mentioned the online dealer LP, so now I am uncertain what might be best for me as far as a gear supplier. The service at all three has been very courteous and helpful (whether driven by sales or no), so much so as to make it a tad difficult for me to select which I would go to regularly for maintenance/service of my equipment and for gases, et cetera.

As for the selection of gear, I have a concern about coloration for my suit, mask, and fins. I get mixed reviews when doing research online about whether aposematism in the marine world would indicate I should dress in certain vivid colors, or in neutrals. I understand white sharks have a "yum yum yellow" response according to several random threads I have read online but I have yet to read the basis for this information. I do feel some concern about looking like a prey item (seal for instance), so is there a way to break up my silhouette as seen from below? I know it sounds like a horror story, but the great whites off the coast of Africa I have seen in a documentary jumping thirty feet (or so I estimate) out of the water attacking fake "seals" (surf boards with attached flippers) being drug by lines behind boats. Just the thought of that, the level of overfishing, and the fact that white sharks seem to know no territorial boundaries gives me the heebie jeebies. I am not exactly letting it deter me, but it is a nagging concern of mine in the back of my mind.

Gah I am the typical dive noobie. Anyway, hello everyone!

LadyAyla

 

[wrybosome]

Hi Ayla, and welcome to Scubaboard. Other people here will have better and more detailed gear advice, I'd just like to say that you may want to consider waiting a bit before buying the gear. Until you've done some dives you won't know the type of equipment you like. Take the opportunity to rent a few different types of equipment before you buy any of the more important items.

Just my $0.02, happy diving!

 

[LadyAyla]

Thanks Wrybosome!

My concern with renting is that my budget is very limited, and I have to have gear for the class. If I spend too much on renting, I'll be limited as to my gear options. Is it expensive to rent stuff to try out before I buy? I was told we at the least need mask, fins, snorkel, and weights, that sort of stuff. I am just not certain I will know what I like if I am not an avid diver able to compare things through experience, which comes with time (and at whatever the expense of renting may be before I gain that comfort level).

 

[drrich2]

From what I understand at a local dive shot, SSI now has an option to make a free account on their web site & complete the academic portion of the program online for free. Whether you choose to train under & certify with them or someone else, seems to me that's a sweet chance to learn more about the gear and diving.

An octopus is a second regulator that you can use to share air with a buddy in an emergency.

You want a regulator brand that can be serviced routinely by one of your area dive shops.

For boots, the SeaSoft Sunray is well-liked by my wife & buddy. I don't wear them because they don't come in size 15.

Unless you'll be doing night diving soon, it's not clear to me you need dive lights right now.

The dive computer will double as a depth gauge in all likelihood. Be sure the dive computer can handle nitrox, since you may eventually use it. I think it'll also keep up with your dive time, so don't worry about a separate underwater timer. If need be, a lot of cheap wrist watches are submersible to around 100 feet.

I like the Sunto compass.

A local dive shop here in KY requires to provide mask, snorkel, fins & boots for the basic OW course, and they provide the rest.

I suggest you get through the course before you buy BCD, regulator & some of the rest.

A dive computer might be nice to have, though. You'll need to consider console or wrist versions, and air-integrated or not. 2 Examples to look at from Oceanic Worldwide are the VT3 (wrist, air-integrated, wireless transmitter attaches to the tank) & the ProPlus 2.1 (console, air-integrated by hose).

Renting a full set of gear can get pricey.

Richard.

 

[stakanak]

True that drrich2. Just one thing-owning your own gear will allow you to dive more. Good luck and welcome to the wonderfully addictive world of SCUBA!
Now lets hear what the big boys/girls have to say...
Get Wet!

 

[LadyAyla]

Thanks to everyone for their support and input! So far, this is the list with your changes added, and some reorganization according to priority:

Must Have For Class (worth college credit at a community college):

1. Mask: have to take my time and pick a good fit
2. Fins: ? color, shape (good fit a must)
3. Snorkel: the kind I can fold up and put into BC pocket
4. Weights

General Dive Gear

1. Gloves: something black
2. BC: SeaQuest Pearl i3 BCD
3. Regulator: serviceable by LDS
4. Regulator bag
5. Tank pressure gauge:
6. Underwater diving knife: one blunt edge and one sharp
7. Dive logbook:
8. Dive computer: nitrox compatible; Examples to look at from Oceanic Worldwide are the VT3 & the ProPlus 2.1
9. Dive flag(s)
10. Boots: (I am wondering if it is okay to have water shoes instead of boots?) try SeaSoft Sunray
11. Compass: try Sunto
12. 3mm wetsuit: (I hear they have a hybrid with a torso area in 3mm and the rest of the full suit in 2mm, which I think sounds ideal for little me because I get cold easily)

Optional/Situational:

• Underwater light:
• Back up underwater light: (I understand this is recommended for diving trips)
• Octopus

Can I say ?

 

[TSandM]

Do I understand that your dive shop is requiring you to purchase ALL of your own gear BEFORE you take the class? I'd look for another dive shop. People take certification classes and discover that they don't like diving, or that they can't do it -- ending up with a couple thousand dollars worth of gear you will never use (and which has little value when sold used) is not a good outcome.

There is NO shop in the Seattle area which requires that you purchase all of your own equipment before getting certified. Mask, fins, snorkel, gloves and boots (things where fit can be difficult) yes, but not BC, regulator and computer. I would seriously look around. You are in Florida, I see, so dive shops cannot be difficult to find, and I would be really surprised if you can't find one that provides the major items for an OW class.

As far as your list goes, I'd seriously hold off on buying the i3. Everyone I know who has bought one has sold it and gone to something else in a short time of diving. They look like a great idea to a non-diver, but in reality, they are fairly complicated and have some significant drawbacks (oral inflation device in a POCKET? This is something you're going to need in an emergency!).

 

[LadyAyla]

Do I understand that your dive shop is requiring you to purchase ALL of your own gear BEFORE you take the class? I'd look for another dive shop. People take certification classes and discover that they don't like diving, or that they can't do it -- ending up with a couple thousand dollars worth of gear you will never use (and which has little value when sold used) is not a good outcome.

There is NO shop in the Seattle area which requires that you purchase all of your own equipment before getting certified. Mask, fins, snorkel, gloves and boots (things where fit can be difficult) yes, but not BC, regulator and computer. I would seriously look around. You are in Florida, I see, so dive shops cannot be difficult to find, and I would be really surprised if you can't find one that provides the major items for an OW class.

As far as your list goes, I'd seriously hold off on buying the i3. Everyone I know who has bought one has sold it and gone to something else in a short time of diving. They look like a great idea to a non-diver, but in reality, they are fairly complicated and have some significant drawbacks (oral inflation device in a POCKET? This is something you're going to need in an emergency!).

It is not for a dive shop. It is a college course, for college credit. Technically, most of the stuff I will not need for the class, like the BC, regulator, and computer. I just know I will be tempted to spend my college funds on other things as the semester progresses over the course of a few months, and when the money is gone, that's all she wrote folks. So, I am trying to get what I can, when I can, seeing as I can even use Pell money on stuff for this class, because it is for a course.

Thanks for the opinion on the i3. I do not know enough about the gear to know whether serious divers, especially women, like such things or not. I know it felt good to wear it. I liked the idea that it doesn't have so much dangling around my body. Maybe that's not exactly the best thing to desire, perhaps a tad unrealistic. I am just trying to consider the world I intend to enter and how its higher creatures may react to me. I guess the four or five folks I have talked to about it did not have the exact same foci as I. I will have to see. Do you think the standard Pearl would be better then?

And, omg is that a Borg cup cake? Awesome.

 

[stephencilento]

I will have to agree with everyone that has said to wait to buy all of your gear. At least until you are certified and know that you will like it. It's a totally different world once you get under water. On that note, having just gotten certified myself, I purchased the following for my class:

Bare Wetsuit 3/2 mm (I get cold too.)
Atomic Split Fins
Atomic Mask and Snorkel (Yes you can fold the snorkel if you want. It also comes with a "quick release" from your mask).
Dive Boots
Oceanic Dive Computer GEO 2.0 (Wrist Mounted w/o air pressure gauge).

While I would love to get more, I am choosing to go the route of renting till I find what I like to dive with. (It kills me, but I do believe it's the better way to go). Also, if you intend to get fancy and buy the wrist mounted dive computer w/ wireless air pressure gauge, keep in mind you will most likely use much of your budget on that one item. Just a thought. So far, I have been really happy with mine.

Lastly, be careful. Diving is extremely addictive. You could easily find yourself spending a lot of money on gear and dives. I know I did. If your looking for a dive buddy after your certified, I am in the Orlando area and am always ready to get in the water. Happy Diving and good luck with your class.

 

[Acanthurus]

A few thoughts.....

1. a 3mm wetsuit is warmer than the "hybrid" 2/3 because of the warmer arms and legs

2. I bought the pearl i3 after my 4 certification dives and I used it in Australia warm water diving s well as dry suit diving now. For Christmas last year I was gifted a Zuma BC which is a back inflate BC and I use this now when travelling. I am finding the i3 more frustrating since using the back inflate BC. It is not as comfortable over my dry suit than over my wet suit. TSandM's comment about the oral inflate is true, it is constantly coming out of the pocket and \i try to shove it back in. I have had to use it on the surface to orally inflate and I didn't find it too bad but it is awkward compared to other types of inflators.

In summary I think you should dive in several different styles of BC's (e.g. back inflate, jacket style, back plate and wing) before you buy.

Hope you enjoy the sport! It truly is another world under the water